Our differentiated leadership model is rooted in forty years of research and more than a decade of experience as learners and educators. We teach leaders to know how and when to actcreating balance in their professional and personal lives.
Executive Coaching | Executive Therapy | Executive Education
Differentiated Leaders create the personal and professional breakthroughs that improve bottom line results. The demands are exhaustive; the need for increased returns endless. At Scholar Executive Group, we provide a new perspective that enables leaders to move past these challenges and create results. Our boutique services are customized for your needs and backed by the latest research. We dont help leaders survive; we teach them how to thrive from the boardroom to the living room.
Founders
Frank Niles is a social and behavioral scientist, researcher, executive coach, and speaker. For the past decade, he has served as a trusted advisor to leaders wanting to create positive change in their lives and organizations. Clients describe Franks approach as practical, powerful, and "life changing."
He has appeared in various national media including Chief Learning Officer magazine, Inc.com, National Public Radio, and CSPAN, and writes about personal development and success for The Huffington Post. He is founder of Niles Performance Group, a coaching and communications firm, and is a sought after keynote speaker.
Frank holds a Ph.D. in political science (University of Houston, University Park) and is the author of over 40 research studies on decision-making and organizational effectiveness. He is on faculty at John Brown University.
Frank is also a former Los Angeles County paramedic and accomplished rock climber. And before deciding he needed to make a living, performed stand-up comedy.
Frank lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife Jennifer and daughter Emma.
Nick T. Ogle is a licensed therapist, professor, executive coach, and international speaker. He is an expert on human relationships and their impact on everyday functioning in the workplace and home.
Nick draws on psychology, philosophy, and research to help individuals, couples, and organizations function effectively and holistically. His interactive approach to coaching and therapy is often referred to as uniquely refreshing, more tangible than traditional approaches, and authentic.
He holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of Arkansas and a M.S. in Counseling from Denver Seminary. He is the author of over 30 studies/articles on such topics as empathy, sexuality, existentialism, therapeutic travel, and executive therapy.
A unique contribution that Nick has had to the field is his development of Authentic Life Travel, an organization that designs therapeutic travel experiences for groups of people. The trips focus on three topics: authenticity, differentiation, and celebration.
Nick has worked with executives at large corporations such as Walmart, JB Hunt, Tyson, etc. as well as executive pastors and nonprofit ministry directors. He has helped executives and leaders recover from sexual scandals, ethical violations, marital issues, etc. He has even been privileged to remarry two executive couples.
Nick lives in Arkansas with his wife (Emily), two boys (Tenney and Sully) and soon-to-be adopted girl.
Services
Scholar Executive Packages
Custom
Scholar Executive Group offers multiple services to our executive clients. For your convenience, we have listed them below to facilitate choosing what best fits your needs. If you are looking for a more comprehensive service suite for your company, please consider our platinum or silver package.
- Executive coaching consisting of either bi-weekly face-to-face or phone consultation sessions
- Executive counseling on a wide variety of topics (depression, anxiety, sexuality, meaning, etc.)
- Individual, martial and family-focused executive counseling
- Personalized training in the Differentiated Leadership model
- Corporation-wide training in the Differentiated Leadership model
- Public reputation management (i.e. brand and public image)
- Transition coaching
- Strategy coaching
- Scholar Executive Report [Link] assessments (from individual to multi-member executive teams)
- Analysis of existing 360 assessments (used in in conjunction with other behavior assessments and Scholar Executive Report)
- Corporate workshops (from intimate 5 person groups to corporate 1500 person groups)
- Conflict management sessions for leaders and/or struggling employees
- Customized mastermind trainings
- Company-specific retreats tailored to your goals (i.e. off-site training and brainstorming sessions)
- Executive therapeutic travel packages (i.e. personal or marital retreats including personalized therapy sessions)
- Corporate ethics training
- Faith integration in the workplace (for companys and organization with a faith background, mission or foundation)
- Development of self-care strategies for the executive and their family
Platinum
This package supports up to 12 coaching and/or counseling clients at a time.
- Up to 20 customized Scholar Executive reports [Link]
- On-site executive coaching and counseling services
- Corporate training in the Differentiated Leadership model
- Tailored off-site coaching/counseling retreats for executives and tiered management
- Weekly 1-hour phone coaching sessions
Silver
This package supports up to 5 coaching and/or counseling clients at a time.
- Up to 5 customized Scholar Executive Reports [Link]
- On-site executive coaching and counseling services
- Corporate training in the Differentiated Leadership model
- Tailored off-site coaching/counseling retreats for executives and tiered management
- Weekly 1-hour phone coaching sessions
Executive Coaching helps leaders cultivate behaviors that make them more effective at work and home. It teaches them to understand and manage the relationships that can either hinder or enhance both personal and company-wide performance. And coaching empowers leaders with the workable solutions necessary to navigate an ever-changing business landscape in order to help their company prosper.
Scholar Executive Group supports executives in recognizing how their personal and professional lives intertwine, teaching them ways to integrate and balance them more effectively in order to achieve far greater results for both. Areas of focus can include interpersonal skills, effective communication, relationships, role transition, decision-making, value alignment, conflict management and culture leadership.
» View Full DescriptionCoaching enables leaders to become more balanced through positive behavior change, helping them create the awareness of knowing how and when to act. The most effective executives consistently rely on this wisdom to guide their actions and attitudes in all situations. At Scholar Executive Group, we call it wisdom-based leadership.
Our Differentiated Leader model shows top executives how they can achieve greater balance, while still moving in the direction of their goals in the quickest, most effective way possible. Through our foundational training, they understand how harmony between personal well-being, relationships and the demands of business can create greater success and empower them to be stronger leaders.
At Scholar Executive Group, we know that the best leaders are ones who understand the whole self from both a professional and personal vantage point. Our boutique services offer development plans for leaders that create personal transformation and deliver a high return-on-investment (ROI) for their organizations.
Executive Therapy shows leaders how their personal and professional lives are interdependent and ways to approach each with respect for the other. It provides a trusted place of confidentiality where issues can be addressed and resolved. One-on-one counseling helps leaders understand their personal motivations and values, creating the awareness to respond appropriately through a variety of situations.
Scholar Executive Group knows from extensive research that personal contentment is a vital key for professional success. The executive is given the personal, marital and emotional support necessary for them to better lead and engage a diverse workforce. Areas of discussion can include personality conflict, marital education, relationships, parenting, anxiety, stress and coping strategies.
» View Full DescriptionTherapy helps executives understand their individual roles and identities, while shaping, maintaining and empowering healthy relationships with others. The objective is to enable these leaders to identify and address the challenges preventing them from doing their best in all areas of life and work. This heightened level of personal compassion and connection is what allows leaders to develop greater self-awareness, empathy, and emotional control. It provides them with a sense of comfort when managing risk and addressing global challenges, allowing them adaptability in thinking and behaving with each new personal or professional goal.
At home, help is provided in working through issues such as an affair, unbalanced work-life priorities, depression and other difficult emotional burdens in order to strengthen their marriage. Counseling fully engages the family of these executives, allowing their spouses to feel equally supported in the process.
The focus of Scholar Executive Groups boutique services is in developing the whole self from both a professional and personal vantage point. We utilize counseling in conjunction with coaching to help executives both reshape and solidify their professional and personal identities.
Todays leaders require a new mindset, a new way of understanding the diverse challenges and stresses of a dynamic workplace and personal life. This need is central to our differentiated leader model. We teach executives the skills and awareness that can help them perform at the highest levels, while also building more effective relationships with colleagues, boards and direct reports.
Through keynotes, executive retreats, team-building seminars and more, we show leaders how to balance the we with the me and reach new levels of achievement. Learn more about our differentiated leader model below. To book Nick or Frank for your event, please contact Scholar Executive Group for details and availability.
» View Full DescriptionExceptional leaders are not born, they possess a refined level of skill and understanding that elevates personal performance and improves company results. Dr. Frank Niles and Dr. Nick Ogle have created a unique leadership model that teaches great leaders how to be remarkable. Below is a sampling of their speaking topics:
- Zest! (Re)Ignite Your Excitement for Work and Life
- Three Key Ingredients to Creating High Performance Teams
- Culture Shift: Create and Convey New Thinking in Your Company
- Invent the Future: Make Change an Ally in Business and Life
- Get Psyched! Engage Your Top Talent and Succeed
- Thriving in the Crucible: Becoming a Differentiated Leader
- From Great to Remarkable: 7 Principles of Exceptional Leadership
- Three Key Ingredients to Creating High Performance Teams
- Culture Shift: Create and Convey New Thinking in Your Company
- Invent the Future: Make Change an Ally in Business and Life
- Get Psyched! Engage Your Top Talent and Succeed
To book Frank or Nick for your next event, please contact Scholar Executive Group for details and availability.
Last year was a crazy year for my company. Frank came in and asked me to form a "Dream Team" of friends and professionals I have worked with, starting his transformation magic. Frank knew all the right questions to ask, how to find my strengths and challenges and then came up with a descriptive plan to take these hidden obstacles and place them into action! Almost overnight, he helped me see a clear path. He helped me realize that my personal life is so intertwined with my professional life; that I should only be involved in things I am passionate about and let go of the rest. The time spent with Frank is invaluable, and I look forward to the day when I can use his resources yet again, as I grow the company that I have just revitalized with Frank's help!
Ron Drake // President, Drake Concepts and author of Flip this Town.
Congratulations to the U.S. Women's soccer team on winning the FIFA Women's World Cup! Carli Lloyd chalks up much of her success to visualization.
Check out Frank's interview with Yahoo! Health about how you too can use visualization to boost your performance in both work and life.
Read the article here.
Seeing really is believing!
My daughter just turned seven. She loves life. Whether it's splashing in a fountain, painting her latest masterpiece, or reading for hours alone in her room, she throws herself 100% into what she is doing.
She overflows with joy.
Most of us were like this as kids. Full of energy. Curious. Enthusiastic. Happy.
But somewhere along the way we lose our excitement for life. Whether by neglect or because of outside pressure, we start playing it safe. We give up on our dreams.
“Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud.” Unknown
A guest post by Jennifer Mathews.
Finding balance in anything is difficult. We have heard time and again “Everything in moderation.” It’s easy to nod your head and respond with an enthusiastic “of course” when referring to rich food or alcohol or exercise or TV time or even the balance of “work” and “play.”
But what about how we’re each hard-wired?
Office politics is no fun.
Getting drawn into workplace drama saps our energy and enthusiasm and can permanently damage our careers. Yet, politics is a reality of life. We may not like it, but it's true.
So the question is, how do we deal with it?
I (along with other thought leaders) was recently interviewed by Robin Madell of U.S. News & World Report about how to avoid becoming a casuality of workplace politics (among other things). There's some really terrific tips in the article that will help you avoid making the most common missteps on the job.
Read the article here: 3 Biggest Workplace Mistakes
I was recently interviewed by CNN about how leaders can use visualization to improve their performance.
It's something I use with clients all the time.
The CNN piece should be published soon. In the meantime, I've posted below my original Huffington Post article that inspired the interview.
This one's for #throwbackthursday.
Enjoy!
Frank
These are happy days for professional football fans - the NFL pre-season has started and the regular season is just around the corner.
After watching just a couple of games, something struck me: Pro football players seem bigger than ever; they dwarf the reporters who interview them and appear more massive than former football greats.
This has created a game that is more competitive, faster-paced, and, according to many observers, much more brutal.
Sounds a lot like the current marketplace, doesn't it; fiercely competitive, fast changing, and unforgiving of mistakes.
To compete in this environment, companies need leaders who think and act like professional athletes -- people who work hard at developing the skills and stamina needed to perform at consistently high levels.
What does it take to achieve this level of performance? Three things.
Failure to execute strategy is one of the main reasons businesses fail. We know what we need to do but often fail to put it into action. Strategy is important but delivering results matters more. After all, customers purchase our products, not our planning. We have to hit the mark on execution or our company suffers.
Is stress getting the best of you?
I asked my good friend and fellow rock climber Dawn Baker MD to share some ideas about how to perform well when the pressure is on.
Dawn is a board certified anesthesiologist, so she knows first-hand what it takes to function at the highest level in stressful situations.
In this post, Dawn uses her love of climbing to illustrate some powerful principles of stress management and self-care. Whether you are a seasoned leader or just starting out, you will benefit immensely from Dr. Baker's insights. I know I have.
The verdict is in. Americans are bored with their jobs.
Seventy percent of employees report being not engaged or actively disengaged from their work and it's costing U.S. companies $550 billion each year in lost productivity.
That's a lot of people. That's a lot of money.
External incentives, such as flextime or financial bonuses aren't reversing the trend. Clearly, we need a new approach to employee engagement. One that addresses the cause rather than the symptoms of disengagement.
Every month I meet a new client who is disappointed and/or disillusioned with their life. They have built an empire of wealth, risen to the top of their field, accomplished the impossible, etc. and yet they are miserable. Their life has become about doing and achieving. In the midst of their progression they have lost sight of the ultimate end goal.
Leaders are defined by the decisions they make and the results they produce.
Most executives know this and it weighs on them. Making high-stakes decisions is risky and takes a toll.
As anxiety sets in, we fall into a trap. We start worrying about making the decision rather than thinking about making the best decision.
This happens when we substitute action for accuracy, swiftness for substance. "We can fix what doesn't work later," is the consolation.
Certainly, we can never have perfect information or foresee all negative externalities.
But in our haste to act, we often overlook the most obvious problems.
The result is a poor decision, which unfortunately, only becomes evident in hindsight.
Bad decisions hurt our company, our career, and our confidence. We begin to worry that we don't have what it takes to lead.
In the words of the late Edwin Friedman, we develop "a failure of nerve."
Have you been in a situation where you made a hasty decision because of stress that in retrospect you wish you had done differently? Did it startle your confidence as a leader?
In this post, I focus on the process of decision-making. When the pressure is on, the steps leading up to making a decision are what set the stage for a successful one. Here is where confidence and courage are vital.
Below are five areas for cultivating clear-minded decisions.
as featured in The Huffington Post view
It's been said that "regret is insight that comes a day too late."
For many of us, this insight comes decades too late. We reach a point in our life and look back wishing we had taken a different path, lived a more meaningful life, acted more authentically.
This is what nurse Bronnie Ware learned during her years working in palliative care. As her patients approached the end of their lives, she often asked them what they would have done differently.
The number one thing they mentioned was this:
"I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
Wow! Ware's patients were honest. Facing the specter of finality demands honesty, and they expressed what many of us secretly yearn for -- to live a life of our choosing, one that is not controlled by fear or guilt or about what other people think.
Psychologists call this need autonomy -- which is simply our natural desire to do things because we want to, not because we are forced to. Personal autonomy is among a handful of psychological nutriments that, like their physiological counterparts, are essential ingredients to a healthy, high-performance life.
It's only by doing what you love, of your own choosing that you become what you are meant to be.
But autonomy does not mean independence. We are also hardwired to interact and care for others -- to feel connected and know that we belong to something greater than ourselves. Think about your most meaningful experiences. We bet you shared them with others.
And herein lies the challenge. How to balance the me with the we. We yearn for self-expression and self-direction, yet are drawn to other people. We want to pursue our own, personal goals and care for those around us.
It takes courage to balance these two competing needs -- to be true to ourselves and others. However, it is only here that we can live without regret.
Here's how to do it.
The Differentiated Leader
At Scholar Executive Group, our goal is to help you create wisdom around balancing the we and the me in order to thrive personally and professionally. The Differentiated Leadership model is designed to teach you how to combine awareness, knowledge and change in order to generate consistent, positive results for your business. Click to learn more.
The Results
A Solid Decision Maker
A Wise Conflict Manager
An Effective Communicator
An Active Listener
A Powerful Motivator
A Culture Creator
An Agile Thinker
A Person of Integrity
A Courageous Leader
A Complete Individual
A Balanced Executive
An Authentic Self
An Engaged Learner
A Collaborative Partner
The stressors of todays work environments take a toll on a leaders ability to perform at the highest levels. They need a new way to see and address these growing challenges.
Scholar Executive Group developed the Differentiated Leader model to teach executives how to think and function beyond existing boundaries in order to better manage and engage a diverse work force to drive bottom line results.
The foundation of our model shows leaders where their performance is inhibited and provides a new understanding for how to move forward. It is best described as learning the process of balancing two of lifes most innate forces: the need to be connected (together, we) and the need to be an individual (autonomy, me).
In leadership roles, these two forces tend to push against each other, often resulting in internal and/or external conflict. The process of differentiation requires that you first recognize which end of this infinite loop you favor most (we or me), and then begin moving towards the middle point on a more consistent basis.
The exact center point in the infinity loop is known as the cruciblethe balance point between we and me. This crucible does not exist as a static point, but rather as a dynamic range around the center of the loop. Awareness of this range, and the knowledge to live in it, is what enables differentiated leaders to regain balance more quickly when circumstances push them outside of it.
In the crucible, one is continually balancing the two extremes of we and me: fusion (you and I are one) and separation (I must isolate from you). Leaders that have learned to thrive in the crucible know how to manage people effectively, embrace challenging opposition and empower unmotivated employees without pushing to either extreme. In short, these differentiated leaders know how to lead in the midst of challenge because they are able to recalibrate their actions more quickly during conflict or against opposition.
They are aware when the effect of the infinity loop pushes them out of the crucible and towards one extreme or the other. These leaders respond by embracing the equation of awareness + knowledge = change.
True awareness is created when you can see yourself and what extremeindividuality or togethernessyou are experiencing in the loop, as well as the external force, challenge or adversity working to propel you towards this extreme. Viewing from this high-level perspective, you can identify the individual components to correct, as well as any that are out of your control.
These insights, about both yourself and the outside situations impacting your ability to thrive in the crucible, allow you to more easily develop specific skills and techniques for dealing with the force, challenge or adversity presenting itself (i.e. conflict management, motivational leadership, appropriate responses, etc.).
You seek knowledge for each aspect of the problem in the form of research, reading, advice, strategic planning sessionsbasically any activity that results in learning how to deal with the issues and situations at hand. Once acquired, it becomes your most powerful tool as an effective leader because knowledge does not rely on emotional responses or impulsivity.
Rather, knowledge allows us to be cognizant of all of the different things that are influencing our decision. It gives us the ability to choose how and when we are going to act. Using knowledge, executives are able to make the decisions that will lead towards lasting change at both the personal and organizational level.
Change is ultimately the byproduct of awareness regarding the bigger picture and possession of the necessary knowledge to address the individual aspects of the problem. The most effective leaders empower lasting change in themselves and organizations through their return to the crucible.
Excellence in leadership is learning to thrive in that crucible, the balanced point of ones life. Your levels of awareness are dynamic; the more knowledge you gain, the smaller your crucible point becomes resulting in more lasting change. This differentiation is what allows a remarkable leader to function at their highest level of excellence.
Back to Model
It has been my pleasure to know Dr. Nick Ogle for 4 years. In that time, I have observed a professionalism, integrity, compassion and competence like no other in his field. I highly and without hesitation recommend him and Scholar Executive Group to anyone considering their services. It can change lives and organizations, transforming individuals and entities into more productive and accomplished people and organizations. You will not be disappointed in the investment.
Kirk Thompson // Former CEO and Board Member, JB Hunt